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MR. THOMAS THUMB IN HIS HIGHLAND COSTUME 



















































































































































































































































































































































iLIFE AHD TRAVELS 


THOMAS THUMB, 

UNITED STATES, ENGLAND, FRANCE, AND BELGIUM. 

ajitji SUustmtintis 

OF HIM IN HIS DIFFERENT COSTUMES. 


PHILADELP 




LINDSAYAND BLAKISTON. 





Entered, according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1849, by 
LINDSAY & BLAKISTON, 

in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States, for 
the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 


STEREOTYPED BY J. FAGAN. 


PRINTED BY C. SHERMAN. 


( 2 ) 







PREFACE. 


Little folks are not perhaps 
all aware of the fact — but the 
Preface of a book is the last 
thing which is written and print¬ 
ed—just as a man’s hat, though 
it is the first thing you see, is 

( 3 ) 



4 


PREFACE. 


the last part of his dress which 
he puts on. And as we write 
this after every thing else is 
done, we find very little more to 
say. Our little subject is ex¬ 
hausted in the body of the work 
itself—leaving nothing of im¬ 
portance to be added. 

Thomas Thumb is still exhib¬ 
iting his marvellously small pro¬ 
portions to admiring thousands. 
Other little people have since 
sprung into notice—but Thom¬ 
as continues to keep the public 
eye, in spite of all competitors. 


PREFACE. 


5 


And we can only hope that our 
biography of so distinguished a 
gentleman may be half as attrac¬ 
tive as the little original. 



THE 


LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

THOMAS THUMB. 


I PURPOSE to write the histo¬ 
ry of Thomas Thumb, from his 
birth down to the present time. 
I shall recount the peculiarities 
which, in a few months, es¬ 
tranged a wonder-loving world 
from all other novelties to this, 
and raised Thumb from compa- 




8 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

rative obscurity, to become the 
marvel of both hemispheres, and 
the especial favourite of the 
gentler sex. I shall relate how 
he divided the attention of the 
loyal with royalty itself, and 
was, in palaces, the object of 
greater attention than the scions 
of more than one royal line; 
how, in America, he won the 
willing plaudits of sturdy repub¬ 
licans ; and how, while empires 
have tottered, and thrones have 
crumbled, he has succeeded in 
founding a fortune not less splen¬ 
did, and more enduring, than 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 9 

that of some of his royal con¬ 
temporaries. 

I should very imperfectly ex¬ 
ecute the task I have undertak¬ 
en, if I were merely to treat of 
journeys and voyages, of scenes 
in the exhibition room, and of 
puffs in the newspapers. It will 
be my endeavour to relate the 
history of the private life and 
character of my hero, and to 
note the manners of those who 
surrounded and entertained him. 
In deference to the little great¬ 
ness of my diminutive subject, 
I shall now come down from 


10 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

my rhetorical stilts. I shall 
cheerfully bear the reproach of 
having descended below the dig¬ 
nity of history, if I can succeed 
in placing before the children 
of the nineteenth century a true 
picture of the life and character 
of their inferior in bulk, but 
their superior in years and ex¬ 
perience. 

The true name of our little 
hero is Charles S. Stratton. He 
is called Tom Thumb, because 
he comes nearer to the little 
man of that name in the nursery 
tale, than any other man per- 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 11 

haps who ever lived. We sup¬ 
pose he must be called a man, 
since he is now seventeen years 
old; and most persons of that 
age think they are men and wo¬ 
men, whatever older people may 
think of them. Though his real 
name is Charles, we shall call 
him by his borrowed name in 
this book, because that is the 
one by which he is best known. 

Tom Thumb’s birth place, 
was a town in the state of Con¬ 
necticut, called Bridgeport, and 
his birth-day was the 11th of 
January, 183S. He appeared 


12 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

like all other children, when he 
was an infant, and was as large 
as children usually are. But 
when about half a year old, he 
seemed to stop growing entirely, 
and has not increased much, if 
any, in height since. So he is 
now a man only twenty-five in¬ 
ches, or two feet and one inch 
high. He has sisters younger 
than he is, who are neither re¬ 
markably small, nor remarkably 
large. The dwarf, for some 
reason which nobody can tell, 
remains a little child in size and 
weight, but is quite a little man 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 13 

in appearance. The only thing 
which seems childish about him 
is his voice : for, as he is so small, 
it is not to be expected that his 
little lungs and throat can make 
so much noise, or rather so man¬ 
ly a noise, as larger bodies do. 
Many physicians have seen him, 
but none can give any reason 
why he ceased to grow. It has 
been the case many times with 
dwarfs that they were sickly, 
or deformed; but Tom Thumb 
is perfect in his limbs, and in 
his health, is more than usually 
favoured, for he sleeps well, and 


14 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

eats his food with a good appe¬ 
tite. His features are regular 
and handsome, and altogether, 
whatever may be the cause of 
his strange littleness, it does not 
interfere with his comfort. 

Our little readers may think 
it very strange that any body 
should travel over the world 
and be exhibited for money. So 
it is; and we cannot help think¬ 
ing this is the most unfortunate 
part of the little man’s history. 
But his parents do not suffer 
him to go neglected, or unat¬ 
tended, for they travel with him. 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 15 

when he makes long journeys; 
but all the care that can be 
taken of him, to prevent his be¬ 
ing spoiled by flattery, or cor¬ 
rupted by bad example, is taken. 
But after all, his manner of life 
is no less unnatural than his lit¬ 
tle stature; and we are sure that 
none of our young readers would 
care to change places with him. 
All of them may, however, learn 
from his good example in some 
respects. He is cheerful and 
contented, and looks to the 
bright and pleasant side of every 
thing. He is not morose or ill- 


16 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

natured, or impatient, though he 
must sometimes become very 
weary of being looked at and 
talked to by so many strange 
people. He has been gazed at 
by more natives of different 
countries than our little readers 
will ever see; Americans and 
Englishmen, Scotchmen, Irish¬ 
men, Frenchmen, Spaniards and 
Germans, and perhaps a great 
many others; and all this atten¬ 
tion does not appear to have 
spoiled him, or to have turned 
his little head. 

How his very early years 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 17 

were spent, we have never 
heard; but it was probably 
much like the manner in which 
other children spend theirs. Cer¬ 
tainly he never could have 
dreamed of exciting the atten- 
tion or of making the great fig¬ 
ure in the world, which his little 
body has done. The proprietor 
of the American Museum, Mr. P. 
T. Barnum, whose business it is 
to exhibit wonderful curiosities 
to the public, found him out 
when he was about twelve years 
old, and brought him to the 
great city of New York. When 


18 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

a man has any thing very curious 
to show, the first thing he has 
to do is to get the newspapers 
to tell the people about it. And 
as Tom Thumb is a very curi¬ 
ous man, and therefore entitled 
to do things out of the common 
mode, instead of calling on the 
editors at their places of busi¬ 
ness, he called on them at their 
houses. He went to the resi¬ 
dence of one of these gentlemen, 
the editor of the New York Cou¬ 
rier and Enquirer, at dinner 
time. Now this was not exactly 
the hour to go to a gentleman’s 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 19 

house both unknown and unin¬ 
vited, but it appeared that Tom 
Thumb had an object in doing 
just what he did. 

The gentleman was carving 
a turkey; and as the turkey was 
actually heavier than Tom, who 
weighs only fifteen pounds and 
two ounces, the editor put him 
upon the table among the dish¬ 
es, to see the operation. There 
was once a very curious story 
written about a man called Gul¬ 
liver, who travelled to a country 
called Brobdignag, where the 
people were so large that one 


20 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

of them took him up in the palm 
of his hand to see how he look¬ 
ed. Now Tom Thumb must 
have felt on this gentleman’s 
dining-table very much as Gul¬ 
liver did in the country of Brob- 
dignag^ The children, of whom 
there were several at the table, 
were very much amused at the 
sight of Tom Thumb upon the 
table, as you may fancy; and 
they laughed outright when he 
moved a glass of water with his 
foot, as a man of common size 
might push aside a basket. Af¬ 
ter watching the carving of the 










MR. THOMAS THUMB AS THE DANDY 











































































































































































































































































OF THOMAS THUMB. 21 

turkey, with a knife which must 
have appeared to him as large 
as a broadsword to another man, 
.Tom walked all round upon the 
table, and paid his respects 
gracefully to every person in 
turn. He then took his seat, 
and assisted in eating the tur¬ 
key which he had seen carved. 
You may be sure that when the 
editor published an account 
of this dinner in his paper, it 
made every body who saw the 
account, very anxious to see 
General Tom Thumb, as he is 
called. “No description,” the 


22 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

paper said, “can possibly ena¬ 
ble the reader to form any idea 
of the diminutiveness of this lit¬ 
tle gentleman, or the peculiar 
impression made upon one by 
his dress and manners. His tai¬ 
lor has certainly exhibited tact 
and talent in fitting so extraor¬ 
dinary a figure, which by the 
by is well proportioned; but we 
shrewdly suspect that his cane 
is neither more nor less than 
the handle of a steel pen with 
a button on the largest end of 
it.” 


At the time that Tom Thmb 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 23 

first came before the public, 
there was another dwarf at the 
Museums, Mr. Stevens, common¬ 
ly called Major Stevens. This 
man is now about forty years 
old, and is between three and 
four feet high. He, like Tom 
Thumb, is of good proportions, 
by which we mean that one 
part of his frame does not seem 
too large or too small for the 
rest. But when he saw Thom¬ 
as Thumb, he owned at once 
that his claim to notice on ac¬ 
count of his little stature was 
set aside. A man nearly four feet 


24 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

high could claim to be regarded 
as a dwarf no longer, when a lit¬ 
tle fellow of two feet and an inch 
was upon the stage. To look 
at Mr. Stevens reminds one of 
a small man: but to see a little 
fellow like Tom Thumb, no high¬ 
er than the knee of many men, 
makes you think of the fairy 
tales of “little people” who 
could get into quart pots. In¬ 
deed Tom Thumb has been car¬ 
ried in a lady’s basket, and once, 
we are told, he climbed up in a 
frolic and crept into the muff 
of a lady whom he knew. He 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 25 

delights to play such pleasant 
little tricks upon his friends, as 
amuse and surprise them. And 
among other of his amusements, 
he will sometimes take hold 
with both hands, of a gentle¬ 
man’s cane, and be carried 
about the room in that way, a 
strong man being able to move 
his stick without much difficulty 
with only fifteen pounds hung 
upon it. 

j^After being exhibited in sev¬ 
eral of the principal cities of the 
United States, Thomas Thumb’s 
friends concluded, in 1844, that 


26 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

they must treat him to a voyage 
across the water. This was a 
very pleasant prospect for the 
General, as he travelled exact¬ 
ly in the way that every man 
would like to see the world, 
with his friends and parents 
with him. And in order to make 
his departure as pleasant as pos¬ 
sible ; and probably, too, to have 
a good story to tell when he 
reached the other side of the 
water, Thomas Thumb rode like 
other generals in an open car¬ 
riage bowing to the people on 
both sides, and to the ladies at 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 27 

the windows. If he had not 
won any great victories, to give 
him a right to this public notice, 
he had not caused any sorrow 
in the world ; and if ever a little 
man deserved a triumph for not 
having done any hurt, it was lit¬ 
tle General Thumb. The city 
Brass Band of musicians march¬ 
ed before him, and a throng of 
people followed behind. It was 
certainly a very remarkable 
“ turn out,” and was contrived, 
no doubt, by Mr. Barnum, who 
knows very well how to make 
the most out of a little man.J 


28 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

The vessel in which he sailed 
was the packet ship Yorkshire, 
an American vessel so called in 
compliment to one of the coun¬ 
ties in England. 

Our country has the honour 
of having built some of the finest 
ships in the world. A packet 
ship is a vessel which sails on 
regular days between different 
sea-ports, so that the man who 
wants to cross the water can 
find a vessel ready to start on 
the days which are mentioned 
in the newspapers; and the 
packet always sails at the prop- 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 29 

er time, if wind and weather 
will allow, whether there are any 
passengers ready or not. The 
American packet ships to Eu¬ 
rope, are the most complete, 
safe, and beautiful vessels that 
ever were built. The cabins 
are like handsome parlours, and 
if it were not that the windows 
look out upon the sea, instead 
of the streets or the green grass, 
and that the floor of the room 
rocks and rolls, you might think 
that you were in a fine house 
on shore. And the table is set 
for breakfast, dinner and supper 


30 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

as regularly as if you vvere at 
home. The ship carries a cow 
or two, to give milk for the cot 
fee; and ducks, and chickens, 
and pigs, and sheep, that the 
passengers may have fresh meat 
for their dinners. There are 
nice and comfortable beds, and 
all the other pleasant things 
which you can think of But 
all these things cannot prevent 
the vessel from rolling about 
when the waves rise, and the 
wind blows. Most of the pas¬ 
sengers are dreadfully sick when 
the vessel first goes out to sea, 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 31 

because they are not used to the 
rolling and motion; and I have 
no doubt that Thomas Thumb 
heartily vrished himself back in 
Bridgeport, and safe on dry land. 

All these delicate and nice 
things that I have been telling 
you of^ seem disagreeable, and 
the very thought of eating 
makes you feel sick. When 
you are just going to lift the 
coffee or milk to your mouth, 
roll goes the ship, and perhaps, 
the coffee goes into your bosom, 
perhaps into that of your neigh¬ 
bour. Your knife and fork slip 


32 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

Avhen you try to cut, and your 
spoon spills over between your 
plate and your lips. I have seen 
all the dishes on a table slide off 
upon the cabin floor, when the 
ship rolled. They have the ta¬ 
ble so fixed on board a packet, 
that this cannot happen; or else 
there is no telling what might 
have become of Tom Thumb if 
he had been buried under cakes 
and dishes, and potatoes, and 
bread and butter; or drenched 
by an upsetting water pitcher, 
or knocked out of his chair by 
a turkey, or a young roasting 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 33 

pig, larger than he. But his 
mother and father, and other 
friends, took very good care of 
him; and what was better than 
the care of any body else, he 
had courage and cheerfulness, 
and a happy disposition, to 
make the best of what he could 
not help, and in that manner to 
take good care of himself He 
is always ready to watch and 
to admire every thing new and 
strange to him; and the wonders 
of the ocean supplied him with 
constant amusement. 

Thomas was besides well em- 
3 


34 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

ployed in another way. He is 
still young; and at this time 
could not have received much 
schooling. In the party of 
friends which accompanied him, 
was a preceptor or teacher. 
Thomas was going to see the 
great world much earlier than 
young folks generally do; and 
to see more of it than such a 
little fellow ever saw before. It 
was necessary that he should be 
taught how to behave in com¬ 
pany, how to answer correctly 
what should be said to him, and 
how to treat the kings and 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 35 

queens and other great people 
of the old world. Now, though 
we have no kings and queens 
and nobles in America, and 
though we do not believe that 
one man is born with a right to 
rule over another, and though 
we do not have the forms and 
fashions of courts and palaces, 
yet if an American goes over 
the water to see kings and 
queens and nobles, it is right 
and proper that he should treat 
them as they expect to be treat¬ 
ed. It would not only be very 
wrong, but very ill-bred to do 


36 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

anything else. And for this rea¬ 
son Thomas was provided with 
instructions, that he might un¬ 
derstand how to conduct him¬ 
self And besides these things, 
he was taught upon other sub¬ 
jects more important than they 
are. Exposed so much, it was 
necessary that he should be in¬ 
structed in the truths of the Bi¬ 
ble, and his duties to his 3Iaker, 
with more care even than other 
youths whose lives pass quietly 
away in their parents’ houses. 
It was necessary that he should 
learn the difference between 







QUEEN VICTORIA S RECEPTION OF MR. THOMAS THUMB BEFORE 
PRINCE ALBERT AND THE ROYAL CHILDREN. 



























































































































































OF THOMAS THUMB. 37 

virtue and vice, to follow one, 
and to avoid the other. And 
in the common school exercises 
of reading and writing he had a 
good deal of lost time to recover. 

Soon after Tom Thumb’s ar¬ 
rival in England, on Saturday 
March 23d 1844, he was sum¬ 
moned to attend at the Palace. 
There were present the Ctueen, 
Prince Albert, the Q,ueen’s mo¬ 
ther, and, the royal household, 
who would make no small com¬ 
pany. The children of Victoria 
Were highly delighted with this 
very little American; the small- 


38 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

est specimen of a republican 
that they had ever seen. Be¬ 
sides the exhibition of himself 
as plain Tom Thumb, the little 
fellow dresses himself to repre¬ 
sent different characters and 
persons; such exhibitions as our 
young readers may no doubt 
have heard of, as “ Tableaux.” 
The word “Tableaux,” in En¬ 
glish means “ pictures.” Tom 
Thumb has quite a series of 
these, in which he exhibits him¬ 
self Sometimes he is Cupid, 
with his wings, and bow and 
arrows; and in that character 


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MR. THOMAS THUMB AS A SAILOR 






























































































































































































































































































OF THOMAS THUMB. 39 

he is said to look as if he were 
a neat little plaster figure, Yaken 
from an image-pedlar’s board. 
Sometimes he represents Samp¬ 
son carrying away the gates of 
Gaza, but it would seem that 
it must require a great deal of 
“ make-believe” to think of such 
a very little Sampson. 

There are many other such 
things which he does; but the 
one which amused the Queen 
the most, and has also diverted 
thousands of others, is his rep¬ 
resenting Napoleon Bonaparte. 
Think of this great warrior’s 


40 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

dress put upon little Tom 
Thumb. Napoleon, as even our 
little readers may have seen in 
the pictures, was in the habit, 
when he was thinking, of fold¬ 
ing his arms and putting his 
body in a certain position.— 
These things, with a hat and 
coat like those which Napoleon 
wore, made the miniature copy 
very perfect. Another of his fa¬ 
vourite characters is Frederick 
the Great, the emperor of Prus¬ 
sia. Sometimes he dresses as a 
sailor, and dances a sailor dance. 
Another of his characters is that 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 41 

of the “Fox-Hunter.” In Eng¬ 
land many wealthy gentlemen 
keep a great many hounds, and 
horses, which are trained to leap 
over high walls, and go in com¬ 
panies to hunt the fox for amuse¬ 
ment. When a hunting party 
meet, they are all dressed in red 
coats, and wear top boots. 
Tom’s fox-hunting boots do not 
look a great deal like a stout 
squires’, for they are only three 
inches long in the sole. I think 
very few of our little readers 
wear a shoe much shorter than 
this. 


42 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

Another of the little fellow’s 
dresses is that of a highlander. 
In this the gay colours of the 
plaid, and the gracefulness of 
the dress, make him. look, per¬ 
haps, more neat than any other. 
On some occasions he puts on a 
full “ Court Suit.” This is such 
a dress as gentlemen wear, when 
they are presented to the En¬ 
glish Oueen on public occasions. 
This dress is not fit to wear any 
where else, being the style of 
dress which has been usual in 
courts for a great many years. 
It is, indeed, like many other 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 43 

fashionable things; made more 
for show than use. It has been 
the same or nearly the same 
for many years. The gentlemen 
wear swords, which are called 
“dress swords”—that is, they 
are made for ornament, and not 
for nse. Tom Thumb’s is not 
longer than a common knitting 
needle. 

The Ctueen, and the other 
great personages present, and 
the Ctueen’s children, were, as 
you may well imagine, highly 
delighted with the appearance, 
and with the performances of 


44 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

Thomas Thumb. He was ask¬ 
ed a great many questions; and 
delighted all present with the 
quickness and ease of his replies 
A little fellow who had seen so 
much as he, and who had been 
so much petted and noticed, 
would of course become very 
ready with his answers. But 
what would be amusing in a 
dwarf, would appear pert and 
perhaps impolite in another 
person; and if any of our young 
readers undertook to copy the 
dwarf in these respects, we are 
afraid that older persons would 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 45 

be likely to consider them spoiled 
children. 

In a little more than a week, 
the royal children and others 
who had heard of and seen him, 
talked so much about the dwarf 
that the Ctueen sent for him 
again. At this time there were 
two Queens present—the Queen 
of the Belgians being also of the 
party. And the Queen of the 
Belgians might have reminded 
Tommy that if there were no 
dwarfs in her country, there 
came a very great giant from 
Belgium. Perhaps some of our 


46 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

readers may recollect him; for 
he has been in America. He is 
not quite so unnaturally large 
as Tom Thumb is small; but he 
is quite large enough to be a 
wonder too. At this visit the 
Q/Ueen of England made Tom 
Thumb some very handsome 
presents, which she had caused 
to be prepared for him. One 
was a “ Souvenir ” or remem¬ 
brancer, with the royal initials 
on one side, and on the other a 
bunch of flowers, set with pre¬ 
cious stones. The royal initials 
are “ V. R.” the first letters of 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 47 

“ Victoria Regina,” and Regina 
means Q,ueen. 

At the same time, the Ctueen 
presented the little man with a 
gold pencil-case, having on it 
his initials. Our rulers in this 
country, do not receive enough 
from the people to make such 
costly presents as these; and to 
go and see the President of the 
United States, requires no more 
form than to call upon any 
other gentleman in the land. 
But, then, if we have not in 
America a class so very rich as 
the nobles and royal families of 


48 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

the old world, we have no class 
of people so very poor, as there 
are thousands in those countries. 
We have not whole villages and 
districts starving for want of 
coarse food to keep life in their 
bodies. There are a great many 
things to wonder at, and to like 
in England and other old na¬ 
tions ; but Thomas Thumb dis¬ 
covered that his plain land of 
America, is the best country af¬ 
ter all to live in. 

Besides going to see Q,ueen 
Victoria, Tom Thumb was in¬ 
vited several times to wait up- 


OP THOMAS THUMB. 49 

on Q,ueen Adelaide. — Q,ueen 
Adelaide is the widow of King 
William, who used to reign be¬ 
fore (tueen Victoria came to 
the throne. In our country the 
rulers are elected by the people. 
In England, the right to reign 
over the Kingdom goes, like 
property, when one king dies, 
to his next heir. King William 
had no children, and so his 
niece became queen. And his 
widow is called queen out of 
courtesy, but has no power to 
rule. Sometimes she is called 
the Q,ueen Dowager. Q,ueen 
4 


50 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

Victoria’s husband is called 
Prince Albert. He is a Ger¬ 
man ; and marrying the Q,ueen 
did not make him King,— nor 
give him any power. But the 
Ctueen has given him a great 
many offices, which bring him in 
a great deal of money. And the 
widow of King William must 
be supported too, in a style be¬ 
fitting her rank; and all Q,ueen 
Victoria’s little children have 
large sums allowed them by the 
nation; and some of them wear 
titles, which bring them in a 
great deal more. So you per- 


OP THOMAS THUMB. 51 

ceive that royalty, with its splen¬ 
dour and glitter, costs the nation 
a very great deal of money; and 
enables those who receive this 
money to make very magnifi¬ 
cent presents. Q,ueen Adelaide 
presented Tom Thumb with a 
very beautiful watch and chain, 
as small for a watch, as he is for 
a man. And a great many 
others made him splendid pres¬ 
ents, so that he was loaded 
down with costly trinkets.— 
When kings and queens set ex¬ 
amples, subjects think they must 
follow. And thus it became the 


52 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

fashion to make Tom Thumb 
great gifts, and to go to see him, 
and to ask him to noblemen’s 
houses, and pay him all sorts 
of flattering attentions. Fol¬ 
lowing the examples of others 
in dress and in other things, is 
what is meant by being in the 
fashion; and if our young read¬ 
ers will only think how little 
credit there really is in not hav¬ 
ing anything of their own, but 
always copying somebody else, 
they will see how foolish fashion 
may make people sometimes ap¬ 
pear. A good many years ago, 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 53 

one of the kings of England had 
a very bad disease in his neck, 
to hide it, he wore a high black 
stock or neck-cloth. Directly 
this was the fashion; and gentle¬ 
men in England and in Amer¬ 
ica too, all dressed as if they had 
diseased necks. Another king 
of England, while he was yet a 
prince, borrowed money upon 
his diamond shoe-buckles, and 
could not get them back in sea¬ 
son to wear them on a certain 
public occasion, and that acci¬ 
dent brought ribbons into fash¬ 
ion, instead of diamond buckles. 


54 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

And again vi^hen Ctueen Victoria 
was in Scotland, the wind blew 
fresh, and she tied her veil 
round the front of her bonnet. 
The Scotch ladies thought that 
was the fashion, the English 
ladies followed the Scotch, and 
the American ladies the English. 
So because Ctueen Victoria fast¬ 
ened on her bonnet with her 
veil on a gusty day, the fashion¬ 
able ladies in both countries, 
thought they must tie up their 
faces, as if they had the tooth¬ 
ache. Thus you can perceive 
what a foolish matter fashion 





MR. THOMAS THUMB’s ADDRESS TO THE KING AND QUEEN OF BELGIUM 


















































































































OF THOMAS THUMB. 55 

really is; and how little worth 
a reasonable being’s while it is, 
to strive to be “ in the fashion.” 

Tom Thumb went a third 
time to the Palace at the com¬ 
mand of Victoria; and after that, 
so many times more, that he was 
called the Queen’s pet He saw 
the King of the Belgians, and 
a great many more grandees 
than he had ever heard of, while 
he lived quietly in Connecticut. 
Tom Thumb in London, as we 
have already observed, became 
the fashion. The notice taken 
of him by royalty, and the re- 


56 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

marks upon his visits to the 
palace, and of the att ention paid 
him, made a common concert 
room too small, for the purpose 
of his exhibitions. His conduct¬ 
or or agent, Mr. Barnum, pro¬ 
cured an opportunity for him to 
appear to the public, at one of 
the theatres in London; and, 
night after night, crowds came 
to see the celebrated American 
dwarf The newspapers pub¬ 
lished pictures of him, songs 
were written, of which he was 
the subject, and dances, and 
music, were named after Tom 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 57 

Thumb. Thus noticed in Lon¬ 
don, people in the other cities, 
and in the country towns, de¬ 
sired very much to see him; and 
accordingly he visited the chief 
cities and towns of Scotland and 
Ireland, highly amusing the peo¬ 
ple wherever he appeared. It 
is a wonder that his little head 
was not completely turned by 
all this; but perhaps the little 
man had sense enough to know 
that in his little stature there 
was really nothing of which he 
should be proud; indeed we can 
imagine nothing more fatiguing 


58 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

than the labour he was called 
upon to endure. 

Like bigger men, when they 
grow rich, Tom set up his car¬ 
riage, and a love of a little car¬ 
riage it is too. The expense of 
the “ turn out ” was three hun¬ 
dred guineas, which in Ameri¬ 
can money would be about four¬ 
teen hundred dollars, quite a 
large sum for a pretty play-thing. 
The carriage, which gives Tom 
Thumb ample room, is twenty 
inches high, and twelve inches 
wide. For horses, the General 
has two ponies of corresponding 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 59 

size, each being thirty-four in¬ 
ches high. Perhaps some of our 
young readers remember seeing 
it in tliis country, for Tom 
Thumb occasionally took a ride 
in it, with a little footman, 
coachman, and all complete, the 
coachman and footman in “ liv¬ 
ery” as it is called, that is, in 
dresses denoting that they are 
servants. They wore blue coats, 
trimmed 'with silver lace, red 
plush breeches, silver garters 
and buckles, and the coachman 
carried a silver-headed cane. 
Cocked hats and wigs finished 


60 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

out their costume. But when 
Tom rode out in our crowded 
streets, he had a large wagon to 
carry him, coach, horses, coach¬ 
man, footman and all, for fear 
some big horse might step over 
his carriage, or some tall man 
step on the roof The carriage 
is very handsomely finished and 
furnished, and has on the sides 
the General’s coat of arms. 
“ Coats of arms ” mean pictures 
representing the seals which 
a great many years ago, nobles 
who could not write, affixed to 
papers. And seals are still used, 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 61 

though the world is much better 
taught. But the coats of arms 
are still preserved, as part of 
the histories of families, and the 
description of such things is a 
part of what is called “herald¬ 
ry.” These are things of which 
Americans are required to know 
but little; but with a great many 
other ancient customs and fash¬ 
ions, must be learned in Eng¬ 
land. Now Tom Thumb’s coach 
without a coat of arms, would 
have been nothing at all in the 
way of a parade affair; and the 
“ coat of arms ” of a Connecti- 


62 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

cut republican might not be 
worth much, even if it could be 
hunted up in the Herald’s office 
in London. What we mean 
when we say “ not worth much ” 
is, that, perhaps, it would not 
show that his great, great, great 
grand-father was first cousin to 
any noble family. What Napo¬ 
leon Bonaparte did not have 
by right of birth, he* supplied 
himself with by right of con¬ 
quest; and the little great Gen¬ 
eral Thomas Thumb helped 
himself to a new coat of arms, 
as the founder of his own fame. 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 63 

I dare say, that Mr. Barnum, 
who is himself a clever Yankee, 
helped Tom in guessing it out. 

What do you think they took 
for the General’s “ coat of arms?” 
They did not stoop to any small 
things, but borrowed national 
emblems. As Tom Thumb was 
born in America, and had been 
petted so wonderfully in Eng¬ 
land, they made a very pretty 
picture out of the female figures 
which stand for Britannia, and 
the Goddess of Liberty. Then 
they brought in the American 
Eagle, and the British Lion. 


64 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

They put on the flags of Ameri¬ 
ca and of England, and the 
Rising Sun; and for a motto, 
they borrowed that with which 
Davy Crockett has supplied the 
American people, “Go ahead!” 
This coat of arms is elegantly 
painted, or as it is called in 
“ heraldry,” emblazoned on a blue 
ground; and the coach looks 
very like a neat little model of 
a great family chariot. After 
all, such things as these answer 
very well to amuse children 
with, and to please a dwarf; 
and we dare say that many En- 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 65 

glishmen considered Tom’s turn 
out a very good joke upon the 
science of heraldry, and all the 
old fashioned folly which is 
shown in what is called “state” 
and “ majesty.” 

While these visits to royalty 
and public exhibitions were go¬ 
ing on, something happened in 
the way of a visit, which delight¬ 
ed Tom Thumb more than all 
the rest. The empire of Great 
Britain maintains constantly a 
very large army. Its great pos¬ 
sessions in India, in America, 
in Africa and New Holland, its 
5 


66 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

scattered islands and ports, and 
the character of a monarchial 
government require that a great 
many soldiers should be kept 
constantly under pay. An Eng¬ 
lish soldier enlists for twenty- 
one years, and Avhen he enlists 
there is no knowing what part 
of the world he will be sent in¬ 
to before his long term of ser¬ 
vice is over. Twenty-one years, 
and that time perhaps passed 
in sickly countries, very . often 
leaves soldiers’ children totally 
unprovided for, and causes many 
of them to become orphans. To 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 67 

provide for some of these, the 
Duke of York in 1801 founded 
at Chelsea a military school, in 
which one thousand children 
of soldiers, orphans, and those 
whose fathers are on foreign 
stations, find a home. Seven 
hundred of these children are 
boys, and three hundred are 
girls. They are fed, clothed and 
taught. The boys, when they 
are old enough, enter the army, 
the girls are bound out as ap¬ 
prentices. These children (for 
Chelsea joins London,) heard 
of Tom Thumb. Now in some 


68 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

houses that we know of, where 
there are only four or five chil¬ 
dren, the talk they kept up 
about this wonderful little man 
was sometimes perfectly deafen¬ 
ing. Only think what it must 
have been in a house where 
there were very nearly or per¬ 
haps quite five hundred little 
folks, to say nothing of those 
that were older. The manag¬ 
ers of the school at last took 
three hundred of the boys who 
had deserved this favour by their 
good behaviour, and marched 
them into London with flags 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 69 

and a band of music. You 
must remember these boys are 
to be made soldiers of, and in 
this school they are taught to 
march and move with military 
and careful exactness. There 
is no shrugging up of the shoul¬ 
ders, and no hanging down of 
the head, no slouching walk, 
and no shuffling feet. Thomas 
Thumb’s place of exhibition 
was a building in London call¬ 
ed the Egyptian Hall. As he 
heard the music he came for¬ 
ward to meet his visitors, and 
was received with a military 


70 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

salute. The music played stir¬ 
ringly, and the three hundred 
young soldiers paid their re¬ 
spects to Tom'Thumb as if he 
had been a general indeed. 
Then the boys formed a hollow 
square ranging themselves on 
the four sides of the room, wait¬ 
ing I suppose to see what the 
yankee dwarf would do in such 
a position. 

Tom had not seen the world 
without learning something.— 
The first reply he made was 
gracefully to acknowledge their 
salute, putting his little hand 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 71 

upon his heart. And he did 
not forget to pay a graceful 
compliment to the little army. 
They considered themselves the 
Queen’s soldiers, and General 
Thomas Thumb, out of compli¬ 
ment to their nation, desired 
their band to play “ God save 
the Queen.” The little orphan 
boys were highly delighted with 
this compliment; and their con¬ 
ductors were quite amused when 
Tom pronounced it “ first rate 
music,” like a genuine Yankee. 
After Tom had sung his audi¬ 
ence several songs, with which 


72 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

they were very much diverted, 
the army of orphans marched 
out, gracefully saluting the won¬ 
derful little man who had come 
so many miles across the ocean 
for them and others to look upon. 

So much for the soldiers’ boys. 
There were others whom Tom 
Thumb thought deserved as 
much as they. In the reign of 
William III. nearly a hundred 
and fifty years ago, the govern¬ 
ment felt that it was time to 
provide a place for disabled and 
old sailors, and so they turned 
a palace at Greenwich into a 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 73 

hospital. To this beginning, 
building after building was add¬ 
ed, till Greenwich Hospital has 
become the largest and noblest 
establishment of the kind in the 
world. Not only sailors who 
are very sick, so as to be obliged 
to stay in the house, are there; 
but a great many old and lame 
men have a refuge here for the 
rest of their lives, the first part 
of which they have spent in the 
service of their country. Near¬ 
ly three thousand old sailors 
live here, and a much larger 
number than this receive pen- 


74 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

sions from the funds of the in¬ 
stitution. All the nurses who 
take care of the sick in this 
great hospital, are seamen’s 
widows. It is very noble in 
Great Britain thus to take care 
of her disabled soldiers and sai¬ 
lors, and their widows and chil¬ 
dren. The United States gov¬ 
ernment does the same thing; 
but as we have not such an 
enormous army and navy, there 
are not so many soldiers and 
sailors to provide for ; and as 
we have no old palaces to con¬ 
vert into hospitals, like those 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 75 

at Greenwich and Chelsea, we 
have no such splendid national 
establishments. And as our sol¬ 
diers and sailors do not serve 
so long, they can better take 
care of their families. It is well 
to take care of those who are 
wounded in fighting for their 
country; but it will be a very 
great deal better, when the 
world learns so much of the 
true temper and spirit of the 
Christian religion, that there 
will be no more great armies 
and navies, no more wars and 
fightings, and no generals who 


76 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

do any more fighting than Gen¬ 
eral Thomas Thumb has done. 

Well—as the old sailors and 
sailors’ widows were attended 
to, it began to be thought neces¬ 
sary to do something for their 
children, or as many of them as 
could be attended to. As there 
is a school for soldiers’ children 
at Chelsea, there is another for 
sailors’ children at Greenwich. 
And as the soldiers’ children had 
visited Tom Thumb, he thought 
it no more than fair that the 
sailors’ children should see his 
little mightiness too. And act- 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 77 

ing upon this kind thought,—for 
perhaps his sea experience made 
him think of it,—he sent them 
an invitation to come and see 
him at Egyptian Hall. They 
were not long in making up 
their minds, and their teachers 
and officers gladly consented 
that they should enjoy such a 
treat. They came with their 
banners and music, and were 
quite as much astonished and 
pleased as the soldiers’ children 
were. 

In Great Britain, where the 
lesser number of the people are 


78 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

very rich indeed, and where 
there are a great many thou¬ 
sands who are very, very poor, 
rich people have from time to 
time founded charity schools. 
That is to say, they have taken 
some of their money while they 
lived, or left a part of it when 
they died, to support teachers 
and pupils, in order that chil¬ 
dren might receive an educa¬ 
tion, who, without this, would 
be neglected. And the great 
universities have had money and 
lands given them to maintain 
poor students, and to pay pro- 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 79 

fessors and teachers. Some of 
our large colleges and universi¬ 
ties in this country, have had 
money and property given them 
in these and in other ways, so 
that the means of education 
may be made as perfect as pos- 
sible. But in England there 
are a great many more charity 
schools than in this country. 
There are more very rich peo¬ 
ple there, who can afford to 
give their property in such a 
way, and who thus make them¬ 
selves remembered. But our 
general system of education. 


80 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

and the more equal manner in 
which the property is divided, 
makes it possible for almost 
every child in this country, who 
is disposed to learn, to obtain a 
good common education; if his 
parents are only thoughtful and 
willing that he should be taught. 
Some of these charity schools 
in England are very excellent— 
most of them perhaps. Charles 
Lamb, whose writings you will 
probably read one of these days, 
received a part of his education 
in a charity school. And it was 
only a little while ago that some 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 81 

great judge, or other person of 
consequence in England, said 
something disrespectful of an 
institution of this kind. An¬ 
other judge immediately said to 
him, “ You forget that we were 
scholars together in a charity 
school!” 

Education is so valuable a 
thing that it ought to be obtain¬ 
ed at any honest cost, or any la¬ 
bour, and we hope all our little 
readers will remember this, and 
never slight the great advanta¬ 
ges which American children 
possess. “Learning,” says the 


82 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

proverb, “ is better than houses 
and lands.” 

Perhaps our readers think 
that we are wandering a great 
ways from Thomas Thumb.— 
Well, we dare say his thoughts 
wandered too, when he saw all 
these children paraded before 
him; and that he reasoned thus, 
—if England is more splendid, 
America is more comfortable. 
If there are very rich people 
and a very rich government in 
England to build these fine in¬ 
stitutions for the poor, in Amer¬ 
ica there are not so many poor 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 83 

who need such assistance. If 
we travel abroad with Tom 
Thumb, as we are now doing 
in imagination, we must learn 
to think, and to look about us; 
and remember the pleasant lit¬ 
tle song which says: 

Of all the lands in East or W'est, 

I love my native land the best.’’ 

A great many other schools, 
and troops of people old and 
young, visited Thomas in Eng¬ 
land, Ireland and Scotland. But 
as we have several other coun¬ 
tries to visit with him, we must 
now take our leave of England, 


84 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

and run over to France. The vo¬ 
latile and lively Parisians were 
fully prepared to welcome a lit¬ 
tle wonder of whom the English 
papers had told them so much. 
If ever our little readers should 
go to Paris, they will discover 
many things in that city which 
will no doubt astonish them, as 
much as Tom Thumb was as¬ 
tonished. In the first place the 
houses are differently built; and 
have not that attention to inside 
comfort. And the people are 
not so fond of their homes as 
the English and Americans are. 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 85 

Every people has its own cus¬ 
toms. The English and Ameri¬ 
cans are said to be domestic in 
their tastes. That means, that 
they enjoy themselves best in 
their own houses. But the 
Frenchmen, and particularly 
the people of Paris, take their 
wives and children and go out 
more — not merely for amuse¬ 
ment— for we do that too, as 
you may perhaps remember 
when you went to the menage¬ 
rie, or to see Tom Thumb, but 
they seem in Paris to like to 
live out of their own houses, 


86 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

while Americans like to live in 
them. 

So what do Tom Thumb and 
his sagacious agent, Mr. Bar- 
num, hit upon, but the very 
thing to take Paris by storm. 
Soon after they arrived in that 
city, there was a great proces¬ 
sion. Frenchmen are fond of 
parades and processions, and 
public displays. It is the genius 
of the people—that is to say, the 
manner in which the mind of 
the people runs. They show 
their grief by processions, and 
go on certain days to the pub- 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 87 

lie cemetery to throw flowers 
on the graves of those who 
were killed in their revolutions. 
They show their joy and their 
love of country, and all things 
which can possibly be exhibited 
in that way, by long marches, 
and countermarches, with ban¬ 
ners and music, and funeral to¬ 
kens or garlands of flowers, as 
the case may require. 

We have told you that Tom 
Thumb took Paris by storm — 
or in other and better words, 
we might say that he took the 
attention and admiration of this 


88 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

out-of-doors people all at once. 
He might have seated himself 
quietly in his hired house, and 
waited a very long time for 
people to come there and see 
him. Instead of doing that, he 
suddenly appeared in a great 
public procession with the coach 
and horses which we described 
to you a few pages back. The 
Frenchmen cried, “Fire Tom 
Pouce! ” in a tumult of delight. 
The word “ Pouce^’ in French 
means Thumb, and “ Vive Tom 
Pouce means “Live Tom 
Thumb! ” and is as much as to 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 89 

say, as we do in English, “ Hur¬ 
ra for the General!” 

There never, they said, was 
such a love of a carriage. There 
never were such little beauties 
of ponies! Such a coachman, 
with his top-boots and cocked 
hat! Such a footman, with his 
silver-headed cane! Such a lit¬ 
tle jewel of a man as the Gene¬ 
ral himself! If it had been rev¬ 
olutionary times in Paris, when 
they throw down one govern¬ 
ment and build up another, as 
they have done a great many 
times in the last fifty years, 


90 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

there is no knowing that Gen¬ 
eral Tom Thumb would not 
have found a party disposed to 
make him, “ on sight ” king of 
the French. But it happened 
when he arrived, which was in 
the Spring of1845, that the peo¬ 
ple were not ready for a new 
revolution, and so Tom Thumb 
escaped the risk of such daz¬ 
zling and dangerous honours. 
The newspapers and the print 
shops were full at once of Tom 
Thumb, and the wonders about 
him. Snuff-boxes appeared in 
the shops with Tom Thumb on 




MR, THOMAS THUMB’s RECEPTION BV THE ROYAL FAMILY OF FRANCE. 

































































































































































































































































































































































































OF THOMAS THUMB. 91 

the lid, and “ Tom Ponce ” ap¬ 
peared to pop up in Paris at 
every corner, in some shape or 
representation or other. He 
took a public hall, and gave 
evening exhibitions, which were 
crowded evening after evening 
with spectators. 

The king of the French and 
his family were as anxious to 
see Tom Thumb, as the Queen 
of England had been. Very 
soon the General was sent for, 
to show himself at the Tuileries. 
The Tuileries is the name of a 
Palace which the king of the 


92 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

French, and other kings before 
him, used to occupy. The word 
looks so hard for a little Ameri¬ 
can tongue to speak, and sounds 
so large when it is spoken, that 
w^e must tell them what it means. 
Tuileries means neither more 
nor less than tile-yard—or per¬ 
haps some of our young read¬ 
ers will understand us still bet¬ 
ter if we call it brick-yard. 
Tiles are made like bricks, but 
thin, to cover roofs, are burnt 
like bricks, ‘and are of the same 
colour. On a few old houses 
in this country, tiles may still 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 93 

be seen. This palace was com¬ 
menced by a Q,ueen of France, 
the wife of Henry II. in 1504; 
and is now almost three hun¬ 
dred years old. On the place 
where it stands, was formerly a 
tile-yard. But though this pa¬ 
lace was begun so many years 
ago, we may almost say that it 
is not finished yet. It stands 
in a beautiful situation on the 
banks of the river Seine, and is 
surrounded with beautiful gar¬ 
dens and other pleasant objects. 
We say it is not finished, because 
almost every French monarch 


94 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

has made some addition or alte¬ 
ration to it; so that the outside 
being built at so many different 
times, presents quite a variety 
in its styles, according to the 
fancies and tastes of different 
men and different periods. The 
interior is full of magnificent ar¬ 
ticles of furniture, and pictures, 
some of which have been very 
roughly handled, since Thomas 
Thumb was there. 

The General was a very wel¬ 
come guest at the Palace of the 
Tuileries. He went through 
his various performances—all 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 95 

except the Napoleon; and the 
Paris papers, while they alluded 
to the fact that he made this 
personation in England, com¬ 
plimented Tom Thumb upon 
his good sense and politeness 
in omitting it in Paris. The 
Frenchmen are very proud of 
Napoleon, and would not like 
to see any exhibition which 
should look like a “ belittle- 
ment” or a caricature of that 
great Emperor. The royal fam¬ 
ily were very much diverted 
indeed, at the careful precision 
with which Thomas Thumb ob- 


96 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

served matters of form and cer¬ 
emony. As a memorial of his 
visit, he drew from his pocket 
a little card-case which was pre¬ 
sented to him by the Q,iieen of 
England, and presented a card 
to each of his royal friends, com¬ 
mencing with the king, and then 
going to the Ctueen, and after¬ 
wards to the younger members 
of the family. The little guest 
and his entertainers seem to 
have been mutually pleased and 
indeed delighted with each oth¬ 
er. And Tom, to show his high 
gratification, varied his ordina- 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 97 

ry round of performances, with 
a dance peculiar to himself, and 
probably invented for him. The 
Frenchmen were not a little 
puzzled at this. They have 
dancing enough in Paris at the 
theatres; but Tom Thumb’s re¬ 
sembled neither “Polka” nor 
“ Mazurka.” 

Presents from kings must be 
worthy of their rank; and Louis 
Philippe, on his first visit, com¬ 
plimented Tom Thumb with 
a beautiful pin, set with dia¬ 
monds. He did not take time, 
as the English ladies did, to 
7 


98 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

have a present made purpose¬ 
ly for him, and adapted to his 
diminutive size; and the orna¬ 
ment looked almost too large 
for the little fellow. But with 
a politeness of which a French¬ 
man might have been emulous, 
Thomas insisted upon having 
the king’s present put at once 
into his cravat, to show his high 
appreciation of the royal gen¬ 
erosity. Other and valuable 
presents were heaped upon the 
little traveller by the royal fam¬ 
ily. How the world changes! 
Louis Philippe has, since that 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 99 

time, been driven from his 
throne, and with his wife and 
children is in England; and it 
i§ very likely that the money 
which the gifts were worth, 
which were given to the little 
dwarf, would have been many 
times within the last year, very 
acceptable to the dethroned 
monarch. Tom Thumb is Tom 
Thumb still, but Louis Philippe 
is a king no longer. The French 
newspaper, in speaking of Tom’s 
performances, said one thing 
which we think is very true. 
“We prefer,” the editors say. 


100 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

“ seeing Tom Thumb when he 
appears in the character of a 
gentleman. He takes out his 
watch and tells you the hour, 
or offers you a pinch of snuff 
out of his box, or a cigar; and 
watch, snuff-box and cigar, are 
each of a size corresponding 
with the Generafs. He is still 
better when he sits in his gold¬ 
en chair, crossing his legs and 
looking at you with a knowing 
and almost mocking air. It is 
then that he is amusing; he 
is never more inimitable than 
when he imitates nothing, when 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 101 

he is himself.” Now what the 
French editor says of Tom 
Thumb is true of every body— 
nobody appears so much at ease, 
as when he is himself, and try¬ 
ing to imitate nobody else. 

We have already mentioned 
the General’s Highland dress. 
Perhaps some of our readers 
have seen him in it. It may 
amuse them to read what the 
French papers said about this 
exhibition. “ His bonnet, which 
he wears in beautiful style, is 
surmounted by a plume, which 
it is said was presented him by 


102 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

the Ciueen of England. He 
handles his claymore with dex¬ 
terity, and kills his enemy with 
the first cut. The brilliant 
plaid, folds advantageously on 
his shoulders; below his waist 
you perceive two vigorous legs, 
with pretty little feet attached 
thereto. This costume is the 
General’s triumph.”—The clay, 
more is a Highlander’s sword; 
and when Tom puts on the 
Highland dress, he shows, after 
his fashion, how the Highlander 
handles his weapon. It is a 
great pity that all killing with 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 103 

the sword is not as harmless as 
General Thumb’s. 

As we have told you a little 
what the French editor said 
about Tom Thumb, suppose we 
add a little more. “Now just 
fancy,” says one of them, “ what 
can be Tom Thumb’s portman¬ 
teau. All the baggage which he 
took to the Tuileries was pack¬ 
ed in a hat-box! It is reported 
that he sleeps in a small bureau 
band-box,—that his carriage is 
housed under his father’s writ¬ 
ing table, and that his horses 
have their stable in his side- 


104 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

board. But what will not peo¬ 
ple say'?” Sure enough, when 
they talk in a strain like that. 
If our little readers have heard 
of the word “exaggeration,” the 
French editors give them an 
example of what it means. 

Besides his exhibitions in the 
Saloon, Tom Thumb appeared 
in Paris a great many nights at 
one of the theatres. A play 
was written purposely for him, 
in which his chariot and ponies 
were introduced upon the stage. 
In the course of this play, the 
writer of it took a hint from the 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 


105 


book called Gulliver’s Travels, 
Avhich we have before mention¬ 
ed. When Gulliver was in 
Brobdignag, where the people 
were so uncommonly large, the 
king of that country caused a 
box to be made for him to live in; 
as in a Brobdignag house a 
common sized man would feel 
as if he were out of doors. And 
the same box or play-house has 
been exhibited in this country. 
It contains all the articles of 
furniture which a bachelor gen¬ 
eral would require for his house¬ 
keeping, each made of a size 


106 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

proportioned to that of the lit¬ 
tle owner. 

After spending about four 
months in Paris, Tom Thumb 
made the tour of France and 
Belgium. In every place the 
newspapers and common fame 
had prepared the people to see 
a most extraordinary little man; 
and when they saw him, they 
were not disappointed. With 
his travels and his opportunities, 
being young, and attended by 
friends who carefully watched 
over him, he improved. Few 
travellers have had such vari- 





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MR. THOMAS THUMB AS A MARQUIS 













































































































































































































































































OF THOMAS THUMB. 107 

ous experience and such a 
chance to see the great world 
as Thomas Thumb. 

While at Bordeaux, learning 
that the Spanish Q,ueen and 
court were then at Pampeluna, 
he made a hasty journey to that 
city, and again had the honour 
of appearing before a royal fam¬ 
ily. His recollections of Spain 
are not so pleasant. That un¬ 
fortunate country has been so 
much wasted by foreign wars, 
and by the wars of one portion 
of its people with another, that 
from one of the finest and rich- 


108 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

est lands in the world, it has 
become one of the poorest. And, 
what is strange for the present 
age, the inhuman sport of bull¬ 
fights is still kept up. In the 
city of Madrid, the capital of 
Spain, bull-fights, in the sum¬ 
mer months, take place regular¬ 
ly twice in every week, in a the¬ 
atre built purposely for this cru¬ 
el sport. Circles of seats, one 
above another, surround the 
space in which the fights take 
place; and gentle and beautiful 
women fill these seats, and wave 
their handkerchiefs and applaud 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 109 

the cruelty of goading a noble 
beast to death. Safe on horse¬ 
back, they pierce the bull with 
spears, to goad him on to fury. 
They fasten paper tubes full of 
powder to the animal, and these 
exploding, add to his pain and 
terror. Dogs are let loose upon 
him to increase his rage, and 
the summer time is chosen for 
the sport, because the greater 
the heat of the weather, the 
greater is said to be the fury of 
the bull. Often several horses 
are killed, and sometimes men. 
In Pampeluna the bull-fight 


110 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

could not be so gaily conducted 
as at Madrid; but General Tom 
Thumb saw quite as much of 
such a sport as he desired, and 
soon returned from Spain to 
France. 

Again he visited Paris, and 
was once more admitted to an 
audience of the French King. 
In these long journeys his nat¬ 
ural protectors, his agent Mr. 
Barnum, and his preceptor, 
took continued pains to instruct 
him, that he might avail himself 
of what he saw, and of what he 
heard. Ordinarily, dwarfs have 


OF THOMAS THUMB. Ill 

appeared deficient in capacity. 
Major Stevens is an exception 
to this rule, and Tom Thumb 
is another. He returned to his 
oivn country after a little more 
than two years’ absence, not an 
inch increased in height, and 
with no perceptible difference 
in his weight, but wonderfully 
improved in his mind, and in 
his manners. Like all Ameri¬ 
cans, who have received foreign 
praise, he was much more no¬ 
ticed upon his return than be¬ 
fore his foreign travels. It is 
true that there was more to at- 


112 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

tract the public than before. 
In the first place, the improve¬ 
ment of which we have spoken, 
has made his exhibitions more 
acceptable; and in the next, 
people were curious to see the 
valuable presents he had re¬ 
ceived, and the wonderful little 
coach, and the house. They de¬ 
sired, moreover, to hear some¬ 
thing of his foreign adventures. 
At the American Museum in 
New-York, he was once more 
a wonder; proving the most ex¬ 
traordinary and untiring attrac¬ 
tion of that establishment. He 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 113 

thence made the tour of the 
principal Atlantic cities and 
towns in the United States, for 
the second time, and with even 
more success than at the first. 
In fact nobody can fail to be 
attracted to so strange and in¬ 
teresting a specimen of human¬ 
ity; and he needs no other at¬ 
traction than himself, to draw 
large audiences. In France, 
they sewed him up in a pie, 
like the famous English dwarf 
Geoffrey Hudson, — but every 
where the mannikin has been, 
it has seemed as if the people 


114 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

were ready to devour him with¬ 
out pastry. 

After making his second tour 
through the United States, he 
retired from public life, both to 
recruit his strength, and to pur¬ 
sue the plan of education which 
had been marked out for him. 
The possession of the money 
which he received for his exhi¬ 
bitions enables him thus to en¬ 
joy the advantages of a thor¬ 
ough education; and he is yet 
by no means beyond the age of 
a scholar. Whether he intends 
to shine upon us by-and-by as a 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 115 

lawyer, a physician, or a politi¬ 
cian we are not informed. But 
whatever pursuit in life remains 
for him, an education will he a 
most excellent guard against 
the temptations to which so sin¬ 
gular a being must he exposed. 
The ill advice of the thought¬ 
less, whom he cannot help hut 
meet; the languor which natu¬ 
rally follows excitement, and the 
evil communications which cor¬ 
rupt good manners,—all would 
press with great force upon an 
idle popular favourite. The 
General is again on a journey 


116 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

now taking the interior of the 
United States, and we are very 
much gratified to find that he 
retains his preceptor. And we 
trust that all who have inter¬ 
course with him are mindful of 
the great importance of reli¬ 
gious and moral culture. The 
day will come when his frame 
will demand rest and leisure; 
and these he could not endure 
without a clear conscience, and 
a mind so stored as to afford 
him resources within himself 
And we notice with much plea¬ 
sure,'that the general and his 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 117 

father, with Mr. Barnum, and 
his preceptor, and all connected 
with the general, before leaving 
New York this Spring, pledged 
their honour to Temperance. 
A temperate dwarf can always 
overcome an intemperate giant 
— or a host of them. The Avea- 
pon with which David killed 
Goliah, was taken from the 
hrook. 

Perhaps our young readers 
may be pleased to hear of other 
dwarfs. There have been a 
great many in the world; and 
in ancient times, the rich and 


118 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

powerful used to think they 
were very fortunate if they 
could obtain a dwarf to amuse 
them and their household and 
their guests. This fancy is still 
kept up in Turkey, for at Con¬ 
stantinople a number of dwarfs 
are maintained as pages to wait 
upon the ladies of the court. 
The post of a page was that 
which the dwarf usually occu¬ 
pied ; for as the ladies are fond 
of amusing themselves with Tom 
Thumb, so have dwarfs always 
been their favourites. 

The oldest poem in the world, 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 119 

Homer’s Iliad, refers to a nation 
of dwarfs or Pygmies. These 
little people, according to the 
ancient opinion, had a great 
deal of trouble with the cranes; 
and every year came down to 
the sea shore in battle-array, 
armed with bows and arrows, 
and riding on sheep and goats, 
to do battle with their feathered 
enemies. They made these at¬ 
tacks in the Spring, when they 
could destroy the eggs and kill 
the young before they became 
too formidable in size and num¬ 
bers. Their houses, according 


120 


LIFE AND ADVENTURES 


to some accounts, were con¬ 
structed of clay, feathers, and 
the shells of eggs. At harvest 
time, when they cut down their 
wheat, or other grain, they fell¬ 
ed the stocks with hatchets, as 
larger men cut down trees. It 
is stated that these little people 
once made an attack upon Her¬ 
cules, when he was asleep, and 
they certainly conducted the 
battle in a very vigorous man¬ 
ner. They attacked his hands 
and feet and head all at once, 
thrusting their tiny spades into 
his eyes, throwing their little 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 121 

arrows into his flesh, and under¬ 
taking to stop up his mouth and 
nose. But he awakened in the 
midst of the tumult, and was 
very much amused and pleased 
at their courage. So he gather¬ 
ed them up, and carried them 
off as a prize in his lion’s-skin. 
This is, however, not probably 
a true story, though there was 
doubtless some manner of foun¬ 
dation for it. 

The Romans were fond of 
dwarfs, and had them trained 
to exhibit themselves as gladia¬ 
tors and warriors — very much 


122 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

perhaps as Tom Thumb does; 
and perhaps he took the hint 
from the Romans. Peter the 
Great, Emperor of Russia, had 
a little man and a little woman, 
whom he caused to marry each 
other. When the wedding took 
place, there was a great time 
indeed; for the Emperor caused 
all the dwarfs that he could find, 
to be invited to the wedding; 
and it is stated that the compa¬ 
ny amounted to a hundred in 
number. Of course all these 
people were not so small as our 
little friend Tom Thumb, but 


OP THOMAS THUMB. 123 

they were small enough to cre¬ 
ate quite a wonder in St. Peters- 
burgh. They rode through the 
streets in little carriages, made 
as small as they could get into, 
and drawn along by little ponies. 

Geoffrey Hudson, the famous 
English dwarf^ was born in 1619 
and died in 1682, being sixty- 
three years old. Geoffrey died 
in prison, being accused of some 
political offence—that is, some 
crime against the government. 
One would suppose that the lit¬ 
tle fellow would know better 
than to meddle with great mis- 


124 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

chiefs. But Geoffrey was not 
so wise and well behaved as 
Tom Thumb. He was present¬ 
ed to Henrietta, the Ctueen of 
Charles the 1st, upon her mar¬ 
riage, by the Duke of Bucking¬ 
ham. The first time the dueen 
saw her strange present, was at 
her wedding feast. There was 
a large cold pie upon the table, 
and very much to the amuse¬ 
ment and wonder of the dueen 
and her company, he suddenly 
jumped out of the pie. Until 
he was thirty years old, Geof^ 
frey was only eighteen inches 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 125 

high, but at thirty he com¬ 
menced growing again, and be¬ 
came almost four feet high. He 
was spoiled and quarrelsome, 
and got very much offended if 
he supposed that anybody laugh¬ 
ed at him. But we cannot per¬ 
ceive how a person that suffer¬ 
ed himself to be put in a pie, 
could expect anything else than 
to be laughed at. Geoffrey 
challenged a gentleman in the 
Court to fight a duel. The 
gentleman was disposed to treat 
it as a joke, but Geoffrey insist¬ 
ed upon a duel with pistols; and 


126 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

at the first fire, the dwarf killed 
the gentleman. This was a sad 
thing to grow out of so small a 
matter, and we are very sure 
that Geoffrey could never have 
ceased to be sorry for it. But 
people were more in the habit 
of duelling then than now, and 
the man thought he could not 
avoid fighting, though it was 
only a dwarf who challenged 
him. Geoffrey Hudson was ta¬ 
ken prisoner twice, once by the 
Turks; but that people set a 
high value on dwarfs, and un¬ 
doubtedly from them he receiv- 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 127 

ed kind treatment. He met 
with a variety of strange adven¬ 
tures, and his life was far from 
being quiet or pleasant. 

Another wonderful little man 
was Nicholas Ferrers, who was 
born in 1741, and flourished at 
the Court of Stanislaus Duke 
of Lorraine, and afterwards 
King of Poland. He had, when 
he was born, a head as small as 
a nut, and his voice was not 
louder than the cry of a mouse. 
He was fed a few drops at a 
time, through a very small tube; 
and when he was baptized, was 


128 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

carried to church in one of his 
mother’s shoes. Thomas Thumb, 
you remember, was as large 
when he was born, as children 
usually are; but Nicholas Fer¬ 
rers was so small at the age of 
a year, at which time he could 
walk very well, that his mother 
did not dare to let him run 
about the house, for fear he 
should get lost or be run over. 
So his father built up a place 
for him with boards, on which 
he could run about and be out 
of harm’s way. 

When he grew so much larger 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 129 

as to be suffered to go out, he 
had two strange guards. One 
was a goose, who followed him 
very carefully, watching every 
step, with a knowing look; and 
the other was an old sheep. 
The goose often carried him 
upon her back, and sometimes 
he rode upon the sheep, while 
the goose walked along at his 
side. One of his great delights 
was to feed the poultry; and it 
was very amusing indeed to see 
him do battle with birds bigger 
than he, and drive them away 
when he thought they were get* 

9 


130 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

ting more than their proper 
share of the food. 

People who heard of him, 
came far and near to see so 
wonderful a personage. The 
Duke of Lorraine sent a mes¬ 
senger desiring his father to 
bring that famous little son to 
Court. Accordingly one day 
the father started, with the child 
on his arm, in a rush basket 
covered with leaves. The Duke 
not seeing anything of the dwarf, 
when his father presented him¬ 
self, was half disposed to be an¬ 
gry, and was quite disappoint- 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 131 

ed. But he was highly astonish¬ 
ed and pleased when little Ni¬ 
cholas brushed away the leaves 
and jumped out on the floor. 
He persuaded the father to leave 
the child, and after much en¬ 
treaty he consented. But little 
Nicholas would much have pre¬ 
ferred to go home with his goose 
and his sheep. He soon fell 
sick, and notwithstanding his 
new and pretty toys and sweet¬ 
meats, much desired to have his 
runs in the fields again, and his 
ducks for play-things. He would 
not talk, or could not, and call- 


132 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

ed continually “ mamma! mam¬ 
ma !” So his mamma was sent 
for, as he was too weak to be 
carried to her, and under her 
nursing and care he soon recov¬ 
ered again. 

Nicholas was a very back¬ 
ward scholar. He learned the 
vowels, but never could learn 
to pronounce and distinguish 
the consonants, and called every 
one B. So he came to be call¬ 
ed Bee-bee, instead of his own 
proper name of Nicholas. He 
was very slow in learning to 
talk, and had a habit, like ma- 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 133 

ny other children, of making the 
same sound for every thing that 
he wanted; and that sound was 
B. His teachers gave up in de¬ 
spair, as trying to induce him 
to learn, only worried the poor 
dwarf, without causing him to 
make any progress. Very few 
dwarfs have been like our little 
friend Thomas Thumb, capable 
of learning. 

Bee-bee once received a visit 
from another dwarf, whose name 
was Boruolaski. But as Charles 
S. Stratton has a dwarf name, 
and Nicholas Ferrers, so had 


134 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

Count Boruolaski. He was 
called Jou-jou, which means in 
English “ play-thing.” Jou-jou 
was only thirty-nine inches high. 
He was the protege or as chil¬ 
dren call it, the pet of a count¬ 
ess who travelled with him all 
over Europe, and took him to 
Turkey, where he had the rare 
honour of being admitted to see 
the ladies of the Sultan’s house¬ 
hold. In Paris, a gentleman 
paid him the compliment to in¬ 
vite him to dinner, at which all 
the plates, knives, forks, and 
dining utensils, were adapted to 


OF THOMAS THUJIB. 135 

his manikin size. His patroness 
thought it would give him great 
pleasure to see the famous Bee- 
bee, and so carried him to the 
Court of Stanislaus. 

You may be sure there was 
a great time, when these two 
important little gentlemen met. 
Bee-bee had a company of chil¬ 
dren to attend him for compan¬ 
ions, the smallest of their age, 
and of the best behaviour. He 
was very grateful for these kind 
attentions, and used to call Sta¬ 
nislaus his good friend. Bee- 
bee never was anything but a 


136 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

child in his intellect, and could 
not count above five; so there 
was made for him a little watch, 
marked only with five hours. 
We do not know how he man¬ 
aged with the other seven hours 
in each half-day, and think that 
perhaps he might as well have 
had no watch at all. There 
were a great many other pretty 
little things in his possession. 
He had a small castle, just fitted 
to his size, and set upon wheels, 
in order that it might be drawn 
about. He had a miniature 
garden, with flowers, trees, and 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 137 

fountains. He had a greyhound 
not much bigger than a squir¬ 
rel, and a pair of turtle-doves, 
no larger than sparrows. Mo¬ 
ney will do a great deal, in the 
way of purchasing the means of 
amusement; but no money will 
give the capacity to enjoy. Poor 
little Bee-bee was in great dan¬ 
ger of being stolen, and that 
made it necessary that he should 
be constantly watched. This 
was very disagreeable to the lit¬ 
tle fellow, and he would much 
have preferred to be left to his 
goose and his sheep. One of his 


138 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

little playmates died; and his 
friends were afraid to tell Bee- 
bee what had become of him. 
So he took the notion into his 
head, that his dead friend was 
gone to bring his goose and 
sheep to him, and he regularly 
laid aside a portion of his pre¬ 
sents, and his playthings, for the 
lad when he should come back 
with the goose and the sheep. 

Bee-bee was very generous, 
and shared what he had with 
his playmates, and children who 
came to visit him. He delight¬ 
ed to throw money to poor chil- 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 139 

dren, who came under the bal¬ 
cony to catch it, and would of¬ 
ten roll a larger sum in a paper 
for the child who seemed to be 
the poorest. All the gold-pieces 
he received, he sent to his broth¬ 
er Lewis, who thus became one 
of the richest farmers in the 
country. 

Thus passed his short life. 
When he died, young as he was, 
he was wrinkled and very old 
in appearance. His time was 
spent in trifles adapted to his 
little mind, for he had a little 
mind as well as a little body 


140 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

Though he was thus flattered 
and cajoled all his little life, he 
was much less blessed than any 
one of our young readers, about 
whom there is nothing remark¬ 
able, and in whose even life no 
strange adventure breaks the 
pleasant path of duty and of 
usefulness. It is not always de¬ 
sirable to be remarkable — as 
many have learned, and that 
life is usually the most agreea¬ 
ble, and often the most useful, 
which is passed in obscurity. 
Those persons who are distin¬ 
guished by any very striking 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 141 

peculiarities, may indeed be ob¬ 
jects of curiosity and astonish¬ 
ment : they may be petted, ca¬ 
ressed, and rewarded : but they 
must ever feel that their varia¬ 
tion from the common standard 
of their fellow creatures sepa¬ 
rates them, in a great measure, 
from the rest of the world. 

Such are some of the facts in 
the history of a few of the little 
men who have figured in the 
world. They are very curious; 
and lead us to wonder why 
Providence permits such de¬ 
partures from the ordinary 


142 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 

course of things. It must be 
for a wise purpose, though it is 
beyond our knowledge.—It will 
be something gained, if the read¬ 
ing of this little book teaches 
our young friends to imitate the 
good qualities of the manikins. 
All children are little men and 
women, and their elders are of¬ 
ten amused with their pranks— 
because it seems so strange to 
see little children forward and 
manlike. But when anything 
is pushed too far, it becomes 
disagreeable; and children who 
desire to be loved by those 


OF THOMAS THUMB. 143 

around them should avoid being 
troublesome or intrusive. They 
must endeavour always to con¬ 
sult the happiness and the com¬ 
fort of those who spend so much 
care upon them. 

Children, like dwarfs, can be 
of very little use in the world, 
so far as its active business is 
concerned, but they can be the 
means of a great deal of com¬ 
fort to their parents and teach¬ 
ers. What they learn, and what 
they do in childhood, will fix 
their characters when they grow 
up. The poor little dwarf has 


144 LIFE OF THOMAS THUMB. 


no such future to look forward 
to as other children have; for his 
life must be, like little Bee-bee’s, 
more or less discontented. Bee- 
bee died in his mother’s arms, 
and never lost his feeling of 
helplessness. Other children 
have an opportunity, if they live 
as long as he, to repay some of 
the care and pains which are 
taken in their infancy. Tom 
Thumb we are sure will try— ' 
small as he is. Won’t you de¬ 
termine to try, too 1 




1 













